VOA标准英语2010年-US Pushes for New UN Sanctions Against

As the US seeks support at the UN Security Council for new sanctions against Iran, Tehran continues to defy the international community, saying its nuclear program has peaceful not military aims. The controversy¹ has triggered a debate on whether new sanctions will be effective or whether military action is needed.

Despite international pressure, Iran continues to ramp² up its nuclear program, enriching uranium at levels that are said to be closer to weapons grade. 

And that has Washington experts debating the course that world powers should take.

John Bolton was UN ambassador under President George W. Bush:

"If you consider that the options we have are the use of preemptive force or Iran with nuclear weapons, you can see why military force unfortunately has to be on the table," he said.

Although Bolton says a pre-emptive strike is the only choice, the international community has been focused on maintaining diplomatic pressure on Iran and on winning agreement on new sanctions.

British Foreign Minister David Miliband spoke³ during a visit to China on Monday

"Britain and China haven't only agreed on the goal that Iran should respect the non-proliferation treaty and not become a nuclear weapon state. We've also agreed on the means to achieve that, which is a combination of engagement and pressure," said Miliband.

New sanctions against Tehran could target Iranian insurance firms and banks and impose travel bans on more individuals, but Russia and China are still reluctant.

Israel is at the opposite end.  It feels directly threatened by Iran and has been pushing hard for tough action. Officials there have said all options are on the table, implying that includes a military strike. 

But recently, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also endorsed⁴ new sanctions.

"The stronger those sanctions are, the more likely it will be that the Iranian regime will have to choose between advancing its nuclear program and advancing the future of its own permanence," said Netanyahu.

George Perkovitch of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace says even if sanctions don't work, Iran has to know that it will pay for its behavior.

"It may not change your behavior, but there is a cost for this action," he explained.  "And, in part, we want to communicate to other states, other actors who may be looking at what you are doing as a model."

The possibility of regime change in Iran has been raised by some experts. But Perkovitch says that with the Revolutionary Guard more powerful than ever, one question remains⁵.

"....how the Revolutionary Guard actually would get replaced in Iran, put out of business, lose power, so that you have a genuine regime change in Iran," he added.

With the US heavily committed in Iraq and Afghanistan, Washington's ability to exert military pressure on Iran is questionable⁶, says Flynt Leverett at the New America Foundation.

"And even if at this point we want to project large amounts of conventional military power into the Persian Gulf⁷ or anywhere else, we are going to have to do it on borrowed money," he said.

The Obama administration is favoring sanctions, experts say, because the other choices are worse.

But they say it's unclear whether Iran's nuclear ambitions - civilian⁸ or military - can be contained in the long run.

 

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

7 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

8 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。